Sunday, June 24, 2012

College admissions begins early for high school and even middle school athletes, not just in big money sports like men's football and basketball, but for many sports, including women's lacrosse. Some of it starts with summer camps:Northwestern Takes Game Directly to Eastern Recruits

"Northwestern has developed a following in the
Northeast thanks to a pipeline built by Coach Kelly Amonte Hiller, who holds
girls lacrosse camps in New York and Massachusetts each summer.

"Amonte Hiller, who also runs camps at Northwestern,
said her main focus was promoting the sport. But she is aware of the other
benefits, as more than half of her players during the past 11 years have been
former campers. Of the 34 current Wildcats, 24 are from New York, New Jersey or
Massachusetts.

...

"Coaches routinely run summer camps at their
universities. They are a way to raise money and visibility while serving as an
initial meet-and-greet with potential recruits.

"But it is uncommon for a coach to take a camp out of
state. Stacey Osburn, an N.C.A.A. spokeswoman, said basketball camps must be
held within 100 miles of the university, and a football camp must be held in the
university’s state or within 50 miles of its campus.

There are no restrictions for lacrosse camps, Osburn
said. And since high school lacrosse’s densest and most talent-rich areas are
still in the Northeast, out-of-town camps are an attractive option for coaches.

...

“The first camp I went to, Kelly came right up and
introduced herself,” said the senior midfielder Alex Frank, a Westwood graduate.
“It had a big impact, having that relationship with her when I was just entering
middle school. And as I got older, I knew what her coaching style was and I was
comfortable with her.”

"Wildcats midfielder Shannon Smith, a native of West
Babylon, N.Y., started attending Amonte Hiller’s camp on Long Island as a fifth
grader.

“Kelly would walk around to all the different fields
making sure she knew the kids,” said Smith, a 2011 Tewaaraton Award winner. “You
were always shocked how she knew a lot of the kids before camp even started.”